Mr March

"Give it to me, right now!" I am envious. I'm going to order them myself. I love the regular series, but this PSA video pushed me over the edge and now I MUST have those DVDs

ANN (AnimeNewsNetwork) posted a link to an article on the Forbes website. The article is about ADV Films and features some very interesting numbers about the anime industry in North America. Naturally it focuses on ADV, but I know lots of members here are always wondering how much business anime does here in the west and how much it's growing. http://www.forbes.com/business/forbes/2004/0906/178.html Enjoy.

I agree with Blaine23, some slow movies that are well made feel long because they are deliberately paced. As one may suspect living in our kind of society, most film audiences can't handle long, slower paced films. However, that certainly doesn't mean they are bad films. In the case of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Unbreakable, Heat, The Good The Bad and the Ugly, and other such films, the pace is slower than your traditional film to build upon certain concepts not present in lesser films of shorter length. By most standards 2001: A Space Odyssey was very slow and plodding. Even as a fan, I enjoy the second half of the film much more than the first. But 2001 deals with a lot of very interpretive, existential themes that encourage the viewer to really think about what is happening onscreen. Even given the generous amount of time for the introduction, some viewers still don't seem able to connect the monolith with the advance of the mankind when they start using a simple tool, a direct result of the monolith's appearance. The now-infamous jump cut itself throws off a lot of people who aren't paying attention. Regardless, I understand the film is not for everyone, but that can be said of a lot of films. My parents have never really enjoyed a single science fiction film in their lives, yet it's an entire genre of film unto itself. The ending of 2001 was a bit contraversial I admit. But try to look at it from the director's perspective and accept the special effects limitations of the time. It was Kubrick's intention to have the gate travel appear very unconventional and bizarre. He wanted the audience to experience the same feelings of unease, confusion, and total euphoria that Dave Bowman was experiencing. Humans have never travelled outside of their solar system nor used any form of FTL travel. The experience of a primitive human going through that would be quite traumatizing. Thus we see a lot of weird imagery. It's not an attempt to be weird for the sake of weird. I think 2001: A Space Odyssey is certainly worth watching a few times. Especially just to consider the implications of the fiction. I like the film quite a bit now that I'm a little older and I think people should give it a try.

Personally, I was hoping for DIRECTOR commentaries in this boxed set, but I guess that's just too much to hope for. In this case, I won't be buying the set. What I do find humorous is the critics commentary and this quote: According to Andy Wachowski, "It's the best idea we've ever had. It's hilarious. They just sit there and rip the poo out of us for six hours." I thought I already had one of those for free. It's called the Internet. Then again, it's probably a fantastic marketting concept. We all love to complain, so a "bitch commentary" might really appeal to many of us

Another list that plenty of people have voted on is the Internet Movie Database's bottom 100 list. You can see it here: http://www.imdb.com/chart/bottom

"You're not watching it! Watch it faster!!!"

I've been to this website many times before. Seems to come up on every message board sooner or later Like the American Film Institutes' Top 100 films of all time (an oxymoron itself), any "list" stating what is good and what is bad will always be subjective to a degree. But it is also true that an individual can enjoy a film that is technically a terrible film by all literal and practical methods of measurement. In my opinion, the list on the "stinkers" is more appropriate than otherwise. While many of us may have worse experiences with some films, I do greatly appreciate the inclusion of these very bad films that I consider cinematic tragedies: Armageddon Batman and Robin Howard the Duck The Island of Dr. Moreau Last Action Hero Natural Born Killers Plan 9 From Outer Space Red Dawn Showgirls Waterworld

Macross is certainly not a dead franchise. If that were so, new product would not be produced. However, neither is Macross a top-shelf cash cow because it just doesn't receive that much acclaim or coverage. If I were to make a North American analogy (being a born and raised Canadian), I would call Macross the "Alien" franchise of Japan. There is still enough interest in Ridley Scott's original movie monster to justify the production of models, toys, books and games as well as the occasional film. However, the franchise just doesn't pull in big receipts that it once did nor is it on the top of our pile of popular culture. It's just a respectable franchise that continues to produce product for a fanbase that will consume it. Remember that as fans, we have a skewed perspective of our favoured works. We latch onto art/entertainment that we like and stay with it over the years, often revisiting our treasured productions time and again. The majority of the entertainment consuming public lives in the moment. They watch whatever happens to be the "big" thing at the time then they forget about it, eager to indulge in the next trend. Macross has passed its prime. Sure we all enjoy sequels and new stories for our favorite animes, films, or books, but it's always the promise of something new that keeps us looking toward the future. Star Wars, Alien, Mad Max, Star Trek, et cetera were all fine entertainment in their time, but eventually both the fickle public and even the diehard fan demands better. This spawns Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Babylon 5, and will inspire others (including myself, hopefully) to create new works as well. Gundam, Macross, and other such animes were great for their time, but I'm constantly on the look out for new anime to keep me interested in the genre as a whole. Macross - at least for me - has enjoyed artistic longevity in spite of its age simply because Macross has not suffered from overexposure. But eventually the new material will lack innovation and fail to inspire at which time I'll cherish my early Macross and leave the rest for better works. Luckily Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and others are being created to move the medium forward and keep me entertained. Whether we as individuals enjoy new anime more or less than what has come before only speaks to our own degree of obsolescence.

I think it's anime in general. Even though I've watched hundreds of animes, I still have a hard time picking and choosing which animes are for me. I don't usually have that problem with anything else like film or music, but anime is still somewhat of an enigma to me. Perhaps it's the way anime is marketted here in North America. I can recall trailers for animes like the Patlabor films being marketted like sci-fi action flicks when there are really crime thrillers. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I found another series I can enjoy. Now if the next volume will just come out really, REALLY soon, I'll be happy

I liked the token "you all suck" character

I've been diving into Ghost in the Shell lately and I checked out the website for this new flick. I'm very eager to see it. Release date is scheduled for September 17th according to the website. The indie theatres here in Calgary have been playing several anime films upon release, so I'm hoping GITS 2: Innocence will make it here as well.

Interesting. How would one listen to such a station? Is there an online option available?

Nice to hear high praise for this series. I'm very excited to see more. Ghost in the Shell: SAC has me hooked from the first episode. Sometimes it's so hard to get into a lot of the anime I watch and I rarely last more than a dozen episodes of a series that I feel is not working. My aquisition of new anime has been minimal for a very long time and I've really been feeling the need to get into something soon just to keep my interest. WHen I haven't been working on film prjects I've been buying lots of live-action film as part of my continuing education in the industry, but my anime viewing has suffered as of late. This new series is coming at the perfect time to recharge my interest in new anime

Glad you all enjoyed it. My favorite was the political discussion

Sounds good! Thanks BSU. I just finished watching the first four episodes of GITS SAC and it was great! Now this is anime I can get into. It's been a while since I've watched an anime series that had a strong introduction to the story. Most anime series have terrible opening episodes. I think Cowboy Bebop was the last anime series that I can remember started off well. As for GITS SAC, the stories are good so far and plenty of fun. The science fiction itself is very innovative. I like the stories focus on Section 9 and the cybernetic/robotic crime investigations. There are some very interesting ways to use and misuse technology that I don't think I've seen in any other science fiction story. The animation is incredible, especially the computer effects. The invisibility effect for Motoko and her Section 9 officers looks great. The music is also very good, although this definitely isn't Yoko Kanno's best work. That award would go to Macross Plus or Cowboy Bebop. I can't wait to see more. A great anime series so far.

I purchased the Special Edition DVD release of "Ghost in The Shell Stand Alone Complex" and have been enjoying the soundtrack on may way to and from work daily. I plan to finally watch the first four episodes tonight If I can. Unfortunately I've owned it for almost a week, but haven't had a chance to watch it. Damn birthdays and parties at the clubs have been intefering with my anime viewing! If I like the series, I would most certainly enjoy a book about the characters, mecha designs, and artwork. If anyone knows a store (online or otherwise) to purchase this book, I'd like to note it for future reference. Thanks.

A friend of mine checked for updates on the website redvsblue the other day and told me about a hilarious video comparing life in the real world to life on the internet. I suspect most of us here have been to at least a few message boards in our time and know what the online world is like, so I think the majority of you could relate to the video and have a big laugh. Here's the link: http://www.redvsblue.com/ Scroll down the main page to a section titled "A little something to fill in the gap (new video duh)" and select the link of your preference. Enjoy

There was a story?! You see! So forgettable you can't even recall there was one

Just saw it and felt like writing a review. I haven't done one in a while and I needed to make my evening worthwhile Alien vs. Predator (2004) Genre: Live Action Film – Sci-Fi/Horror Alien vs. Predator director Paul W.S. Anderson may lead many to believe the idea of combining these two movie monsters into a film was his idea some 10 years ago. Given the criticism many a fan had of Anderson’s attachment to this film, it was expected that despite what he lead the masses to beleive in pre-release interviews, Anderson had a better concept than anyone. Unfortunately, this film neither pleases fans hoping for some fun sci-fi entertainment nor does it do justice to the much better comic books which spawned the idea much earlier than a decade ago. The film Alien vs. Predator (or AVP as the film’s marketting posse love to spray on posters and teaser trailers) combines two alien speices from two of the more successful modern monster movie franchises into a single film (from Ridley Scott’s “Alien” in 1979 and John McTiernan’s “Predator” in 1987). The two species meet on Earth in the Antartic, with contact being initiated by a group of human explorers who have discovered a pyramid beneath the ice. The pyramid is actually a hunting ground of sorts, used by the Predators to hunt the Aliens as their species’ right-of-passage. The humans, being caught in the middle of this fight between the two, are unprepared and struggle to survive the clash of these interstellar creatures. The fruition of the concept to showcase these two alien monsters can no doubt be credited to the financial success of the 2003 horror bout “Freddy vs. Jason”. The idea for AVP however first saw public release via a company called Dark Horse, who published an Aliens vs. Predator comic book series in 1989. The success of the series spawned more comics and eventually a market for merchandise including models, statues, computer/console/arcade games, and novels. What is felt by any fan of the franchise watching AVP can only be both disappoinment and relief that the film has very little to do with the science fiction legacy off-screen. Instead, director Paul W.S. Anderson chose to tell his own tale of how these two species meet and the results are anything but exciting. The errors in the plot are so glaring that one cannot help but be distracted, especially since the dull action can’t occupy the audience. The pacing is jumbled by a mere token of character development in the opening only to be carelessly thrown away without notice in the latter half. The Predators and Aliens have lost any presence of terror in the film because the story depicts most Predators as easily dispatched amateurs while the Aliens are slimey eye-candy just as easily boned by the few, smarter Predators. The worst tragedy by far can only be AVP’s total failure as either a fun, summer sci-fi flick or a cult favorite. Despite the film’s focus on two superstars of the monster movie genre, there is surprisingly little actual conflict between the two. What alien action there is for the audience amounts to recycled battles from better films and pro-wrestling style brawls. The special effects offer little innovation over the tried-and-true concepts that made Alien and Predator successful genre films nor is there any satisfaction to be found in the dry human characters. The entire film is just going through the motions of what we all expect from a tired hollywood film and the finale is as stale as the morose musical score. Most fans of the off-screen franchise or aficionados of the films will be quick to reference the entertaining comics or the better movies as examples of the two alien spieces done right. While the comic book stories or computer game plots may have fared much better than the Anderson/O’Bannon script for AVP, no pre-existing story could freshen this film from poor execution. Whether one criticizes the special effects, plot, or characters, it is obvious to everyone except the most diehard fan that AVP doesn’t deliver anything worth watching. Rating: 3 out of 10. A good idea for a fun sci-fi film is wasted by a bland script, boring special effects, and a forgettable story.

Love it! There are very few different interpretations of Misa or any of the other characters. I like what you've done with her. Well done!

Again, the point is missed. I never said Lucas specifically was suffering from fan backlash, but I know public perception of him is less than ideal...without burrowing through the "hardcore fanboy" zones of the opinionated net. Lucas does suffer from intense criticism (regardless of the state of his wallet) and his statements to the press in the last few years have all but indicated his frustration with the unending requests to stop modifiying his own works. If he's tired of telling fans he won't release theatrical versions of the original Star Wars trilogy, maybe he should avoid acting in ways that invite discussion of the subject. Such as this article.

I think most famous people should keep their opinions to themselves. Sure, they're entitled to their opinions, but too many celebrities use their fame as a platform the voice their opinions, when many times they are not necessarily qualified to speak on the topics. That's not my point at all. Lucas is just an example of any famous figure whose is more than willing to throw around their own opinions when some hot topic pisses them off. However, they cry foul when the public criticizes them and they are suffering from fan backlash. If Lucas dislikes all the bad press he's been getting from fans and the media in recent years, maybe he should think about a little damage control. Just an opinion, since we're all having so much fun dishing them out

I got the set last night. The special features look good, though I heard second hand my favorite feature (directors commentary) is a little dry. But I've been waiting for a proper release of this film for some time. I've looked over the features and box briefly and it's pretty good. Certainly not the best DVD set I've ever purchased, but better than most. The movie cash for AVP is nice, since I was loathe to pay to see that film anyway

LOL

Jamie Foxx is working himself up nicely for an Oscar. With Ali and Collateral under his belt, he's building a solid resume of respectable film work and industry opinion of him is high and growing higher. When Hackford's Ray finds itself on the Oscar lineup, I would be shocked if Foxx is not at least nominated for Best Actor. As for the film Collateral, I found it very enjoyable. Micheal Mann has always been a favorite of mine and he continues to produce well paced, character rich films with plenty of well-written dialogue. Although Foxx is certainly the center attraction in this flick, Cruise definitely gives one of the better performances in years and really chooses a role far away from his standard fare. His dialogue is well delivered and true to character. I may be a bit of a sheep for trends in film, but I can't get enough of Foxx. When given a serious role and a chance to stretch his dramatic muscles, he simply enhances his skill and embelishes the film in which he participates. What a shame it would have been for him to stick to those silly, stereotypical comedies. Both Foxx and Cruise made an excellent pairing, with smooth dialogue exchanging between the two that is a script writer's dream. The story was compelling for a crime saga and no one seems able to photograph L.A. like Mann. Though I would never want to live there myself, Mann always seems to bring out the best of his favoured city. The cinematography in Collateral was first rate and I found myself very much enjoying his use of his camera. I was especially surprised how much I enjoyed the shift from 24 fps to 30 fps. Mann's use of freehand digital in a high frame rate was very well done and merged successfully with the traditional cinema speed. As always, I absolutely adored Mann's direction of the gun fights. Just like he did in Heat, Mann creates fantastic gun fights using as much realism as possible and respecting the destructiveness of the gun. All those directors that spoil their action flicks with enormous muzzles flashes, big explosions, and gallons of red dye in corn syrup find themselves standing still next to just one good gun fight from a Micheal Mann film. Overall, a great action film with plenty of character development and smart cinematography. For some years nows I've been avoiding action flicks and I'm glad to see some films like Collateral or The Bourne Supremacy bringing me back home